Word part · Anglo-Saxon prefix
The Anglo-Saxon prefix un-
Means: not, or the opposite of.
At a glance
- Part
- un-
- Meaning
- not, or the opposite of
- Layer
- Anglo-Saxon: Short everyday words, compounds and the most common prefixes and suffixes.
Un- joins a whole word and changes none of its letters: un + kind.
Example words
Read each word, then its sum: the parts that build it, and what they mean together.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
- un (prefix)+happy (root or base)→unhappy
not happy
- un (prefix)+lock (root or base)→unlock
do the opposite of lock; open
- un (prefix)+kind (root or base)→unkind
not kind
- un (prefix)+safe (root or base)→unsafe
not safe
- un (prefix)+pack (root or base)→unpack
do the opposite of pack; take things out
- un (prefix)+help (root or base)+ful (suffix)→unhelpful
not full of help
- un (prefix)+break (root or base)+able (suffix)→unbreakable
cannot be broken
- un (prefix)+pre (prefix)+dict (root or base)+able (suffix)→unpredictable
cannot be predicted
- un (prefix)+fair (root or base)→unfair
not fair
- un (prefix)+tie (root or base)→untie
do the opposite of tie; loosen a knot
Original word lists and meanings written by Literacy Trail.
Taught alongside
Parts that share a lesson with un-.
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